Oar, Paddle or ?????

[Protector]

I found this in a an antique store in a bin with old canoe paddles and boat oars, with the tag ' Hawaiian paddle?' It seems to me like an extremely un-'seaworthy' paddle, but it does have a South East Pacific look to it. It seems more club like, although it might be fragile for that use. The short shaft/grips patina makes me believe it has not been cut or shortened. It had a slightly crusty/waxy coating on it which I carefully cleaned off with a wood oil soap, but nothing else has been done to it.
Does anyone have any idea what it might be or where it's from??

[VANDOO]

IT APPEARS TO BE A CANOE PADDLE THAT HAS BEEN CUT DOWN THE DESIGN LOOKS OCEANIC SOUTH PACIFIC TO ME BUT I HAVE NO PICTURES OR REFRENCE FOR THE TYPE. THE BISHOP MUSEUM MAY HAVE A GOOD COLLECTION FOR REFRENCE BUT i COULD GET NO HELP FROM THEIR WEBSITE BUT I AM NOT VERY GOOD WITH COMPUTERS.

[Kinikini]

Something tells me it could be Samoan and Maybe it was once a "Club" of some kind but i'm just guessing !

[manteris1]

It may be a dance club from Samoa...................jimmy

[Kinikini]

Originally Posted by Kinikini

Something tells me it could be Samoan and Maybe it was once a "Club" of some kind but i'm just guessing !

The bold "triangles" remind me of patterns iv'e seen on objects from the Solomon island's and it seems unlikely to be a paddle due to it's "bulky"/"heavy" proportion's.......Although the overall shape seems to suggest it Samoan I would have expected the designs to have been carved or punched into the club, but they have been carved Out of the club, not Into it. I am sure I had something from the Solomon Islands with this design years ago. K